Apparatus for removing barbs from the quills of feathers



NOV- 3, 1953 A. J. NAAB APPARATUS FOR REMOVING BARES FROM THE QUILLs oF FEATHERS Filed oct. 15, 1952 Figi.

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@.y, T. WN R 3fm 7 w A wv A Patentecl Nov. 3, 1953 APPARATUS FOR REMOVING BARBS FROM THE QUILLS OF FEATHERS August J. Naab, Passaic, N. '.I.

Application October 15, 1952, Serial No. 314,859

12 Claims.

This invention relates to methods and means for removing the barbs of feathers from the quills and coarser portions offeathers so as to obtain a material which may be used in producing yarns, fabrics, felts and other products.

It has been suggested on numerous occasions heretofore that the barbs of feathers might be used by themselves or with other natural or artificial bers or hair to produce yarns, fabrics, felts, rug pads and similar products. However, the methods and equipment provided for removing the barbs from the quills have generally been so slow and unsatisfactory in operation as to make the cost of the operation uneconomical. Moreover, only those barbs in the basal or covered portions of feathers are sufficiently soft, uffy and detached from adjacent barbs to be suitable for use in forming most yarns and fabrics whereas no means Vhas been available heretofore for separating such fluffy barbs from the stiffer, cohering barbs of the vane or exposed portions of feathers. It is for this reason that feathers have never been used in producing yarns, fabrics and fine felts to any significant Y commercial extent.

In accordance with the present invention these objections to feather stripping equipment of the prior art are overcome and means are provided whereby the ne uff of feathers may be re, moved from the quills and coarser barbs and recovered in a form suitable for use in producing yarns, fabrics, high grade felts and other products. The coarser barbs may thereafter be removed from the quills by conventional equipment for use in producing rug pads, coarse felts and other products and the quills and coarse barbs may be treated with acids, alkalies or other chemicals to produce or recover various protein compositions and other constituents thereof.

. These results are preferably attained by feeding the feathersto a cutter which is protected by an apertured guard through which air passesin a manner to cause the fluff to stream through the comb into position to be cut from the quills while A the coarse and cchering barbs of the vane are an improved feather product for use in producing yarns, fabrics, felts and other products.

A specific object of the invention is to provide apparatus for removing barbs from feathers wherein a cutter is shielded by means which permit severing of fiuffy barbs from feathers While preventing removal of the cohering barbs of the vane.

rlhese and other objects and features of the invention will appear from the following description thereof wherein reference is made to the accompanying drawing illustrating a preferred type of mechanism which is cited for the purpose of indicating the nature of the invention and without intending to limit the invention thereto.

In the drawing:

Fig. l illustrates a typical feather adapted for use in the practice of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic side elevation of a typical form of equipment embodying the present invention;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional View illustrating a portion of the device shown in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of a portion of the construction shown in Figs. 2 and 3 with parts broken away.

The feather illustrated in Fig. 1 represents a typical breast feather from a chicken and is generally characteristic of all feathers in that it has a quill 2 to which the barbs of the feather are attached. The barbs 4 which make up the vane or exposed portion of the feather include branched interlocking fibers which are so attached to each other as to form a substantially continuous web. However, the basal portion of the feather, which is usually covered, is composed of barbs which are similarly branched but they do not cohere to each other, and therefore, present a light, fluffy, brous texture ideally suited for forming yarns, fabrics and soft high grade felts. The barbs 6 of the feathers are therefore more desirable for many uses and are hereinafter referred to as the fluff of the feather.

The equipment illustrated in Figs. 2, 3 and 4 serves to remove the fluff of feathers without removing the barbs or quills with the result that the product obtained is a fine, light, soft material consisting of a multitude of individual and freely separable feather barbs which may be used by themselves or in combination with other natural and synthetic fibers or hair for producingt woven or felted materials.

As illustrated in Fig. 1, the feathers are supplied toa hopper 8` from which they move downward to a brush-like feather agitating and feeding device lil located adjacent an apertured guard l2. In the preferred form of the present invention illustrated, the guard l2 is provided with parallel slots forming a comb with a large ninnber of teeth or spokes which are spaced short distances apart and which are held in predetermined spaced relation by the spacing members M as illustrated in Fig. 4'. The spacing of the teeth of the guard or comb can be varied by employing spacers I4 of any preferred thickness whereby the teeth i6 of the guard are held in parallel relation and a predetermined dis.- tance apart. The brush l is arranged so that the bristles thereof project through the guard and between the teeth I6 as the brush rotates. At the rear of the guard a stationary cutterblade' I8 is positioned near the lower edge of the teeth I6. A rotary cutter 2Q is. mounted within a hous-Y ing 22 on which the guard l2 is supported and the cutter 2U preferably is formed with curving or angularly disposedblades so as to afford a progressive shearing action to sever the portions of the feathers which project through the guard and across the stationary blade f3. Af suction device 2li' communicates with the: chamber 22 in which the cutter 2G is located and the blower, cutter and brush are rotated at suitable speedsy by means of a motor 26.

The device further may be provided with an air jet indicated at 28 which extends alongv the upper edge of the guard adjacent the point where the feathers are moved into engagement'l with the guard by the rotating brush l0'. The air from jet 28 is projected toward the guard lf2',` whereas the blower 24 creates a powerful suction for drawing air from the jet 2a and. fromthe hopper 8 through the guard in a. manner to. cause the soft', separated quills of the. nuff of each feather to move through the spaces between the teeth I6 of the comb so that they stream through thel comb toward the interior of the. chamber 22. The bristles of the brush I!) not only agitata andi feed the bristles to the guard or comb but they further serve to comb or align the separated barbs ofthe nuff so that they will extend generally parallel to the teeth of the guard and therefore are drawn through the guard instead of lying transversely acrossI several teeth ina manner' which will preventy them from streaming inward intov position to bev severed from the quills of the feathers. The brush Hl further feeds the feathers7 downward across the outer face of the guard I2 toward a discharge outlet Sil' below the guard l2. Any

excess feathers and those having unsheared nuff are engaged by the bristles ofthe brush and are returned to the hopper so as to be fed again. to the guard whereas the feathers. from which the fluff has been sheared are more readily disengaged from the brush and are discharged through the outlet 30.

The stationary blade I8 adjacent the lower. edge of the guard is positioned to' be engaged by' the inwardly streaming barbs of thefluff as they move downward across the guard by gravity and under the action of the brush i0. The barbs are then sheared from the quills by the rotating cutter' 20 and are carried through the chamber by the blower 24 to a receiving chamber 32. The position of the stationary blade I8 and the thickness and location of the teeth I6 of the comb serve to cause the fluff to be sheared from the quills at a point spaced somewhat from the quills so that the cohering portions of any barbs of the fluff directly adjacent the quin. z shownat 34i in Fig; r

are retained by the quill and each individual barb of the fluff is completely separated and disentangled from other barbs. Furthermore, the inwardly streaming air and the combing action of the brush Il) in combination with the teeth IE insure straightening out of the barbs of the fluff so that they are severed from the quill substantially at the edge of the portion 3d of each feather in a. manner to obtain barbs of maximum length which are wholly disentangl'ed from adjacent barbs. The resulting fine, light, fluffy product thus obtained is ideally suited for use in producing yarns,` fabrics: and high grade felts and further may be combined with other natural and articial fibers such as wool, silk, cotton, rayon, hair and the like to produce new types of fabrics possessing even greater warmth and softness than natural wool. Moreover, the length of the barbs 'is such as to impart unusual strength to yarns and fabrics produced from the barbs or in which they are incorporated.

The feathers discharged from the outlet B and from which the fluff has been sheared may be subjected to a further stripping, shearing or clipping operatiorr to produce a product composed of the coarsei and more entangled barbs of the feathersA and the quills or coarse portions' of the feathers may be subjected to treatment with acids, alkalies or other chemicals for producing numerous protein products and for the recovery of other constituents ofthe feathers.

In a typical operation the teeth of the guard in the device to which the' feathers are rst presented are spaced. a very short distance apart so that only the nest and softest barbs of the fluff are sheared from theI feathers. The partially sheared feathers which are discharged from the rst shearing device thenY pass to a second. device wherein the teeth of the guard are-spaced somewhat farther apart whereby the coarser barbs of the fluff are removed from the. feathers. The feathers from which the' fluff has been largely or entirely sheared then pass; to a third device in which a stiff brush rotatingk at relatively high speed serves to break apart the-'barbs of the vanes of the feathers and present them for shearing from the quill, after which the quills carrying any unsheared barbs may be passed to a chopper or other device for preparing the feathers for further treatment and use by chemical processes or otherwise.

In this way feather products of Varying degrees of lneness and softness may be obtained for usev separately in producing different types or grades of products or for use in diierent opera-tions.

While the blower, cutter and brush maybe rotated at variousl speeds, it is further desirable to maintain a forceful flow of air through the guard to straighten out and drawy inward the. barbs of the nuff. The brush it is preferably rotated at a sufficient speed to insurev effective feed of the feathers to the guard and cutter at a rate which insures the maximum production of sheared flu from the equipment. If the brush I0 is formed with relatively stiff bristles and rotated at high speed, it tends to separate or disentangle many of the barbs of the vanes of the feathers. When the presence of a limited amount of such coarser barbs is not objectionablev in the nished product. it may therefore be desirable to rotate the brush I D at relatively'high speed and to form the bristles of' the brush of stiff material such as `fine flexible wire. The yield of barbs obtained under such conditions is increased, although the texture-of the sheared product obtained is somewhat less fluffy and includes some cohering' barbs.

It will further be apparent that the character of the barbs obtained in any operation will also depend upon the type of feathers supplied to the equipment and the spacing of the teeth I6 of the guard l2. When the teeth are relatively far apart, some of the barbs of the vane may project through the comb so as to be sheared along with the fluff.

These and other modifications and changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the elements provided in the practice of the present invention. It should therefore be understood 'that the particular embodiment of the invention shown in the drawing and described above and the methods of operating the equipment are capable of numerous changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for removing barbs from the quills of feathers comprising a cutter, an apertured guard located adjacent the cutter, means for supplying feathers to said guard on the side thereof opposite to said cutter, and means for causing air to flow past said feathers and through said guard toward the cutter so as to cause barbs on the feathers to stream through the apertures in the guard into position to be engaged by said cutter.

2. Apparatus for removing barbs from the quills of feathers comprising a cuttery a slotted guard located adjacent said cutter, means for supplying feathers to said guard on the side thereof opposite to said cutter, and means for causing air to flow past said feathers and through said guard toward the cutter so as to cause barbs on the feathers to stream through the apertures in the gurad into position to be engaged by said cutter.

3. Apparatus for removing barbs from the quills of feathers ccmprisng a cutter, a slotted guard located adjacent said cutter, means for moving feathers across said guard on the side thereof opposite to said cutter and in a direction parallel to the slots in the guard, and means for causing air to flow past said feathers and through said guard toward the cutter so as to cause barbs on the feathers to stream through the apertures in the guard into position to be engaged by said cutter.

4. Apparatus for removing barbs from the quills of feathers comprising a cutter, an apertured guard located adjacent said cutter, a

hopper for receiving feathers communicating with the guard on the side thereof opposite to the cutter, a brush located in the hopper adjacent the guard, means for rotating said brush to cause feathers to be moved across the guard, and means for causing air to flow past said feathers and through said guard toward the cutter so as to cause barbs on the feathers to streamthrough the apertures in the guard into position to be engaged by said cutter.

5. Apparatus for -removing barbs from the quills of feathers comprising a cutter, a slotted guard located adjacent said cutter, a hopper for receiving feathers communicating with the guard on the side thereof opposite to the cutter, a brush located in the hopper and rotatable in a direction to cause the bristles of the brush to move lengthwise of the slots in the guard in moving feathers across the guard, and means for causing air to flow past said feathers and guard toward the 6 cutter so as to cause barbs on the feathers to stream through the apertures in the guard into position to be engaged by said cutter.

6. Apparatus for removing barbs from the quills 'of feathers comprising a cutter, a slotted guard located adjacent said cutter, a hopper for receiving feathers communicating with the guard on the side thereof opposite to the cutter, a brush located in the hopper and rotatable in a direction to cause the bristles of the brush to move lengthwise ofthe slots in the guard in moving feathers across the guard, air jet means located adjacent the exterior of the guard for directing air through the guard toward the cutter to cause barbs of the feathers to stream through the guard into position to be engaged by the cutter.

7. Apparatus for removing barbs from the quills of feathers comprising a cutter, a slotted guard located adjacent said cutter, a hopper for receiving feathers communicating with the guard on the side thereof opposite to the cutter, a brush located in the hopper and rotatable in a direction to cause the bristles of the brush to move lengthwise of the slots in the guard in moving feathers across the guard, air jet means located adjacent the exterior of the guard for directing air through the guard toward the cutter to cause barbs of the feathers to stream through the guard into position to be engaged by the cutter, and suction means drawing the cut barbs away from the cutter.

8. Apparatus for removing barbs from the quills of feathers comprising a rotary cutter, a guard located adjacent said cutter and having slots therein extending parallel to the direction of rotation 0f the cutter, a stationary cutter member located adjacent the ends of the slots in the guard and on the inner side of the guard in position to cooperate with the rotary cutter to shear barbs projecting through the slots in the guard from quills of feathers located on the exterior of the guard, means for supplying feathers to the exterior of the guard, and means for causing air to flow through said guard and past said feathers to cause barbs of the feathers to stream through said slots into position to be severed from the quills by said cutter.

9. Apparatus for removing barbs from the quills of feathers comprising a rotary cutter, a guard located adjacent said cutter and having slots therein extending parallel to the direction of rotation of the cutter, a stationary cutter member located adjacent the ends of the slots in the guard and on the inner side of the guard in position to cooperate with the rotary cutter to shear barbs projecting through the slots in the guard from quills of feathers located on the exterior of the guard, means for supplying feathers to the exterior of the guard, and means for causing air to flow through said guard and past said feathers to cause barbs of the feathers to stream through said slots into position to be severedl from the quills by said cutter, and a rotatable brush located on the exterior of the guard and rotatable in a direction to cause the bristles of the brush to travel parallel to the slots in the guard and to project through said slots in an area spaced from the cutter.

10. Apparatus for removing barbs from the quills of feathers comprising a rotary cutter, a guard located adjacent said cutter and having slots therein extending parallel to the direction of rotation of the cutter, a stationary cutter member located adjacent the ends of the slots in the guardV and on the inner side ofthe guard in position to cooperate. with the. rotary cutter to shear barbs projecting through the; slots in the guard from quills of feathers located on the exterior of the guard, means for supplying feathers to the exterior of the guard, air jet` means located adjacent the guard on the exterior thereof directing air through the guard towardthe cutter to cause barbs on the feathers t0 stream through the guard into position to be severed from the quills by the cutter.

11'. Apparatus for removing barbs from the quills of feathers comprising a rotary cutter, a guard located adjacent said cutter and having slots therein extending parallel to the direction of rotation ofl the. cutter, a stationary cutter member located adjacent the ends of the slots in the guard and on the inner side of the guard in position to cooperate with the rotary cutter to shear barbs projecting through the slots in the guard from quills or feathers located on the exterior of the guard, means for supplying feathers to the exterior of the guard, and a rotatable brush located on the exterior of the' guard and rotatable in a direction to cause the bristles of the brush to travel parallel to the slots in the guard and to project through said slots in an area spaced from the cutter, air jet means located adjacent the guard on the exterior thereofY directing air through the guard toward the cutter to cause barbs on the feathers to stream through the guard into position t0 be severed from the quills by the cutter.

12. Apparatus for removing barbs from the quills of feathers comprising a rotary cutter, a

guard located adjacent said` cutter -andhaving slots therein extending parallel to the direction of -Iotation VofV the cutter, a stationary cutter member located adjacent the ends of the slots irflithe guard and on the inner side of the guard in position toVV cooperate with the rotary cutter to shear barbs projecting through the slots in thegu-ard from quills of feathers located on the exterior of the-guard, means for supplying feathers to the exterior of the guard, and a rotatable brush located on the exterior of the guard and rotatable in a direction to cause the bristles of the brush to travel parallel to the slots in the guard and to project through said slots in an area spaced from the cutter, air jet means lo cated adjacent the guard on the exterior thereof directing air through the guard toward the cutter to, `cause barbs on the feathers to stream through the guard into'position to be severed from the quills by the cutter, and suction means located beyond the cutter drawing air through the guard and serving to carry the sheared barbs away from the cutter.

^ AUGUST J. NAAB.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 200,197 Hicks Feb. 12, 1878 258,607' Sammet May 30, 1882 2,251,438 Bouda Aug. 5, 1941 2,471,356 Slick May 24, 1949 

